Title: Efficacy and safety of acupoint embedding therapy compared with western medicine in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: a meta-analysis

Authors: Baixing Xu; Haicheng Dong; Shifeng Zhu; Xiaoying Sun; Guodong Cong

Addresses: Fuyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Hangzhou, 311400, China ' Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Children's Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310005, China ' Department of Gastroenterology, Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou, 310012, China ' Department of Acupuncture and Rehabilitation, Fuyang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hangzhou, 311400, China ' School of Tourism and Urban-Rural Planning, Zhejiang Gongshang University, Hangzhou, 311018, China

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of acupoint embedding therapy in the treatment of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Articles published up to August 2021 were retrieved from PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CNKI, VIP, WanFang, CBM, and the clinical trial registration database. This meta-analysis included 7 RCTs, involving 718 NAFLD patients. There is a statistically significant difference in the total efficacy rate between acupoint embedding therapy and western medicine (RR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.11-1.34; P < 0.0001; I² = 0%). Acupoint embedding therapy has a huge association with improving TCM syndrome scores (MD = -3.46, 95% CI: -3.98 to -2.94; P < 0.00001; I² = 0%). Acupoint embedding therapy is more effective at treating NAFLD patients.

Keywords: acupoint embedding therapy; nonalcoholic fatty liver disease; NAFLD; meta analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJCSM.2024.137265

International Journal of Computing Science and Mathematics, 2024 Vol.19 No.2, pp.133 - 145

Received: 19 May 2022
Accepted: 08 May 2023
Published online: 08 Mar 2024 *

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